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COMPLIMENTS OF 

O. H. xMARSHALL, 

No. 700 Main Stkeet, 

BUFFALO. 



CHAMPLAIN'S EXPEDITION 



AGAINST THE 



ONONDAGAS 



IN 1615 



EXPLANATION. 

The map prefixed is a photo-lithographic fac-simile of the original which ac- 
companies the edition of the Voyages of Champlain in New France, printed at 
Paris, in 1632. 

The numbers 89, 90, 93 appear in the original, and are thus explained in a table 
annexed : 

89. Village renferme de 4 pallisades ou le Sieur de Champlain fut a la guerre 
contre les Antouhonorons, oil il fut pris plusieurs prisonniers sauvages. 

Translation : Village enclosed within 4 palisades, where the Sieur de Cham- 
plain was during the war upon the Antouhonorons, and where numerous savages 
were made prisoners. 

90. Sault d'eau au bout du Sault Sainct Louis fort hault ou plusieurs sortes 
de poissons descendans s'estourdissent. 

Translation : A waterfall of considerable height, at the end of the Sault St. 
Louis, where several kinds of fish are stunned in their descent. 

93. Bois des Chastaigniers ou il y a forces chastaignes sur le bord du lac S. 
Louis et quantite de prairies, vignes et noyers. 

Iranslation : Woods of chestnut trees, with abundance of chestnuts, and exten- 
sive meadow lands, with vines and walnut trees on the border of Lake St. Louis. 



EXPEDITION 



OF THE 



SIEUR DE CHAMPLAIN 



AGAINST THE 



ONONDAGAS IN 1615 



COMPRISING AN INQUIRY INTO THE ROUTE OF THE EXPEDITION, AND THE 
LOCATION OF THE IROQUOIS FORT WHICH WAS BESIEGED. 



Communicated to the New York Historical Society Oct. 1875 



ORSAMUS H. MARSHALL 



CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE SOCIETY 




NEW YORK 
1877. 



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n^Ko 



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MAGAZINE OF AMERICAN HISTORY 



Vol. I JANUARY 1877 No. 1 



CHAMPLAIN'S EXPEDITION OF 161 5 AGAINST THE 

ONONDAGAS. 

IN the year 161 5, there dwelt on the south-eastern shore of Lake 
Huron, between Lake Simcoe and the Georgian Bay, a nation of 
Indians w^ho were called in their own language, " Wendats " or 
" Wyandots," and by the French " Hurons." There is no record of their 
having been visited by the white man prior to the above date. In the 
same year, the Sieur de Champlain, the Father of French Coloniza- 
tion in America, who had entered the St. Lawrence in 1603 and founded 
Quebec five 3-ears later, ascended the river Ottawa as far as the Huron 
country — Le Caron, the Franciscan, having preceded him by a few days 
only. These adventurous pioneers were seeking, in their respective 
spheres, and by concurrent enterprises, the one to explore the western 
portions of New France, and the other to establish missions among the 
North American Indians. 

The Hurons, and their Algonkin allies who dwelt on the Ottawa, being 
at that time engaged in a sanguinary war with the confederated Iroquois 
tribes south of Lake Ontario, persuaded Champlain to join them in an 
expedition which they were projecting into the territories of their enemy. 
The combined forces set out from Ca-i-ha-gue, the chief town of the 
Hurons, situated between the river Severn and Alatchedash Bay, on the 
first day of September, 161 5.' 

Crossing Lake Simcoe in their bark canoes, the}- made a short port- 
age to the headquarters of the River Trent, and descended in its zigzag 
channel into Lake Ontario. Passing from island to island in the group 
which lies in the eastern extremity of that Lake, they safely reached its 
southern shore, and landed in the present State of New York. Conceal- 
ing their canoes in the adjacent woods, they started overland for their 
Iroquois enemies. 

' Champlain's Voyages. Edition of 1632, p. 251, 



champlain's expedition of 1615 

In an account of this expedition, read before the New York Historical 
Society in March, 1849, ^"cl published in its Proceedings for that year,' 
I endeavored to estabUsh the precise point where the invaders landed, 
the route which they pursued, and the position of the Iroquois fort which 
they beseiged. The fact that Champlain had, at that early day, visited 
the central part of the State of New York, seemed to have been over- 
looked by all previous writers, and was deemed to be an interesting 
topic for historical investigation. Taking for my guide the edition of 
Champlain's works published in 1632, the only one then accessible,^ I 
became satisfied on a careful study of the text alone, the map being lost, 
that the expedition landed at or near Pointe de Traverse, now called 
" Stony Point," in Jefferson County, and from thence proceeded in a 
southerly direction, and after crossing the Big and Little Sandy creeks 
and Salmon and Oneida rivers, reached the Iroquois fort on Onondaga 
Lake. 1 fully stated these conclusions in the communication above refer- 
red to, and they were approved and adopted by several of our American 
historians.' Other writers, however, of equal note and authority, locate 
the fort as far west as Canandaigua Lake.* 

In view of these considerations, I have been led to reexamine the 
subject, aided by additional sources of information, particularly by the 
late Abbe Laverdiere's recent edition of all of Champlain's works. My 
present purpose is to state, briefly, the result of that re-examination, and 
the additional grounds upon which I adhere to my former conclusions, 
I will first, for convenient reference, give a literal translation of that part 
of Champlain's narrative which" relates to the question. It is taken from 
the edition of 1619, which differs in a few unimportant particulars from 
that of 1632. After describing the voyage until their embarkation near 
the eastern end of Lake Ontario, a synopsis of which has already been 
given, our historian says : — '" 

" We made about fourteen leagues in crossing to the other side of the 
Lake, in -a southerly direction, towards the territories of the enemy. 
The Indians concealed all their canoes in the woods near the shore. 
We made by land about four leagues, over a sandy beach, where I no- 

' Proceedings for 1849, p. g6. 

^ The first account of the expedition was published in i6ig. 

^ Brodhead's History of New York, Vol. I., p. 69; Clark's History of Onondaga, Vol. I., p. 253; 
Shea's edition of Charlevoix's New France, Vol. II., p. 28, note. 

* O'Callaghan's Doc. Hist, of New York, Vol. III., p. 10, note; F'erland's Cours D'Histoire du 
Canada, p. 175; Parkman's Pioneers of New France, p. 373; Laverdiere's Works of Champlain, p. 
528, note. 

^ Laverdiere's Champlain, p. 526. 



champlain's expedition of 1615 

ticed a very agreeable and beautiful country, traversed by many small 
streams, and two small rivers which empty into the said Lake. Also 
many ponds and meadows, abounding in an infinite variety of game, 
numerous vines, and fine woods, a great number of chestnut trees, the 
fruit of which was yet in its covering. Although very small, it was of 
good flavor. All the canoes being thus concealed, we left the shore 
of the Lake, which is about eighty leagues long and twenty-five wide, 
the greater part of it being inhabited by Indians along its banks, and 
continued our way by land about twenty-five or thirty leagues. During 
four days we crossed numerous streams and a river issuing from a 
Lake which empties into that of the Ent on honor ons. This Lake, which 
is about twenty-five or thirty leagues in circumference, contains several 
beautiful islands, and is the place where our Iroquois enemies catch their 
fish, which are there in great abundance. On the 9th of October, our 
people being on a scout, encountered eleven Indians whom they took 
prisoners, namely, four women, three boys, a girl, and three men, who were 
going to the fishery, distant four leagues from the enemies' fort. * 
The next day, about three o'clock in the afternoon, we arrived before 
the fort. * * * Their village was enclosed with four strong 
rows of interlaced palisades, composed of large pieces of wood, thirty 
feet high, not more than half a foot apart and near an unfailing 
body of water. * * * We were encamped until the i6th of the 
month. * * * As the five hundred men did not arrive,' the 
Indians decided to leave by an immediate retreat, and began to make 
baskets in which to carry the wounded, who were placed in them doubled 
in a heap, and so bent and tied as to render it impossible for them to stir, 
any more than an infant in its swaddling clothes, and not without great 
suffering, as I can testify, having been carried several days on the back 
of one of our Indians, thus tied and imprisoned, which made me lose all 
patience. As soon as I had strength to sustain myself, I escaped from 
this prison, or to speak plainly, from this hell. 

'' The enemy pursued us about half a league, in order to capture 
some of our rear guard, but their efforts were useless and they with- 
drew. * * * * The retreat was very tedious, being from 
twenty-five to thirty leagues, and greatly fatigued the wounded, and 
those who carried them, though they relieved each other from time to 
time. On the i8th considerable snow fell which lasted but a short time. 
It was accompanied with a violent wind, which greatly incommoded us. 

1 A reinforcement they were expecting from the Carantouanais, who lived on the sources of the 
Susquehanna. 



champlain's expedition of 1615 

Nevertheless we made such progress, that we reached the banks of the 
Lake of the Entouhonorons, at the place where we had concealed our 
canoes, and which were found all whole. We were apprehensive that 
the enemy had broken them up.'" 

I will now proceed to examine the reasons which have been assigned 
in favor of locating the Iroquois fort on or west of Canandaigua Lake. 
They are three-fold, and founded on the following assumptions: ist. 
That the EntoiiJionorons, whose territory was invaded, were the Saiecas^ 
then residing on and west of Canandaigua Lake.^ 2d. That the route, 
as laid down on the map of Champlain, which is annexed to the edition 
of 1632, indicates that the fort was on Canandaigua Lake, or on a tribu- 
tary of the Genesee river, \and consequently in the Seneca country." 3d. 
That the distances traveled by the expedition, as stated by Champlain, 
prove that the extreme point he reached must have been in the Seneca 
country.'' ♦ 

I will notice these propositions in cheir order, ist. In regard to the 
identity of the EntouJwnorons with the Senecas. One of the arguments 
urged in favor of this identity is based on the similarity of name, the 
Senecas being called " Souontocrj'honons'' by the Hurons. But the latter 
called the Onondagas " OnontaerrJionons^'' which bears quite as strong a 
resemblance to Entouhonorons as the name they applied to the Senecas. 
It may be stated here that O'Callaghan, Parkman, Ferland, and Laver- 
diere, each called the tribe in question " Entouhort'/z^z/^," whereas, 
Champlain, in all the editions of his woiks, refers to them invariably as 
" Entouho;^^r6';^5." He never calls them " Entouhorc;;^;/^- " in his text. 
On the map annexed to the edition of 1632, they are named ^' AnX.OMoro- 
nons," but in the index to the map, '' AntovLhonoronsJ" It must, 
therefore, have been from the map, and not from the text, that the 
word " Entouhoronons " was derived. The other name, as uniformly 
given by Champlain in his text, we must assume to be correct, in 
preference to the solitary entry on the map.^ 

' Champlain's Voyages. Ed. 1632, Part I., pp. 254-263. Laverdiere's Reprint of the Narrative 
of 1619, pp. 38-48. 

'Laverdiere's Champlain, Vol. i, p. 521, n. i. Parkman's Pioneers, p. 373, n. 

^O'Callaghan, in Doc. Hist. N. Y., Vol. i, p. 10., n. Parkman's Pioneers, p. 373. 

* Laverdiere's Champlain, Vol. I, p. 518, n. 

'Laverdiere's Champlain, Vol. 2, p. 1392. 

^ If it be assumed that the terminations '^ronons" and " noroits" are identical, and mere suf- 
fixes, signifying, in the Huron language, "people," see P'ather Bruya's Mohawk Dictionary, p. 18, 
then, if those terminations are dropped from each of the three words, they will respectively hc- 
covae " sononfoe," " onontae," and ^' entouho," and represent the names of i\\e places where those 
nations resided. Now it cannot be said that there is any stronger resemblance between sonontoe 
and entouho, then between onontae and entouho. 



CHAMPLAIN'S EXPEDITION OF 1615 

It is supposed by some that the edition of 1632, which contains the 
map, and is composed of his previous publications, was not the work of 
Champlain, and never passed under his personal supervision. It is 
asserted that it was compiled by his publisher, Claude Collet,' to whose 
carelessness the error in the name, as contained on the map, may be 
attributed. There was no map annexed to the edition of 161 9, and the 
one which accompanied that of 1632 was not constructed until seven- 
teen years after the date of the expedition, as appears from a memoran- 
dum on its face. It may not have been compiled from authentic data. 
One of the discrepancies between it and the text is its location of the 
'' Antouoronons,'" not at the Iroquois fort, but a long distance west of it, 
thus making a distinction between them and the Iroquois who were living 
at the fort that is wholly unwarranted by anything contained in the nar- 
rative. It is also worthy of note, that the map is not once referred to by 
Champlain in his text. Not only was it constructed after all his narratives 
were written, but the index to it was evidently added by some other 
hand. Another argviment urged in favor of the identity of the Ejitouho- 
norons with the Senecas has been drawn from the existence of a nation, 
called by Champlain " CJwuntoiiarouon^' which is undoubtedly a misprint 
for " ChonontouarononJ They are described as living between the Hu- 
rons of Canada, and the Carantouanais (or Andastes), on the Susque- 
hanna.' Champlain says that, " in going from the one to the other, a 
grand detouris necessary, in order to avoid the Chonontouaronofi, which is 
a very strong nation.'" From the name and location, they can be no other 
than the Senecas. 

The Abbe Laverdiere assumes that the Choiioniouaronons and Ejitouhon- 
orons are one and the same people." This cannot be true, for Champlain 
mentions them both in almost the same sentence, and gives to each their 
respective names, without a hint of their identity. ° Indeed, Laverdiere, 
in support of his theory, is obliged to interpolate a word in the text of 
Champlain, which is entirely superfluous.' The identity of the Entouhon- 
orons with the Senecas, rather than with the Onondagas, cannot there- 
fore be established by any supposed similarity of name. 

' Harrisse. Bibliographic de la N. France, p. 66. See also Laverdiere's Champlain, pp. 637-8. 

'^ Shea's Charlevoix, Vol. 2. p. 28, n. The letters " n " and " u " occur frequently in Indian 
names, and it is quite difficult to distinguish the one from the other in manuscript. Their being 
often mistaken for each other occasions numerous typographical errors. 

^Jesuit Relation for 1648. Quebec Reprint, pp. 46 — 48. 

* Laverdiere's Champlain. p. 522. 

* Laverdiere's Champlain, p. 521, note 1. 

* Laverdiere's Champlain, p. 909-910. 

'' Laverdiere's Champlain, p. 522, note i. 



champlain's expedition of 1615 

2d. The next in order for consideration, is the route pursued by the 
expedition, and the site of the Iroquois fort, as they are indicated on the 
map. 

A slight examination of the annexed fac-similc of that portion of the 
original map, which relates to this expedition, will show it to be wholly 
unreliable as a guide in any investigation of Champlain's route. It is in- 
correct in most of its details. Although the original exhibits the general 
outlines of Lakes Ontario and Huron, Lake Erie is almost entirely ig- 
nored, an irregular strait, bearing little resemblance to it, being substi- 
tuted. Lake Ontario, as shown by the facsimile, is erroneously repre- 
sented as containing several islands scattered along its northern and 
southern shore, and the Niagara river as running due east into its west- 
ernmost extremity. The Great Falls are located at the very mouth of the 
river. Everything is distorted, and in some places it is scarcely recogniza- 
ble. The supposed route of Champlain is indicated by a dotted line, 
which, crossing Lake Ontario along a chain of imaginary islands, nearly 
opposite the mouth of the Oswego river, strikes the southern shore at 
that point. All evidence that the expedition traversed the " sandy 
beach " which stretches along the Lake shore, south of Stony Point, as 
referred to in the text, is entirely omitted. From the mouth of the Os- 
wego, the line pursues a southerly direction, and after crossing what 
appears to be the present Seneca river, and another stream, passes be- 
tween two lakes directly to the Iroquois fort. This route, as thus shown 
by the map, is highly improbable, unnecessarily circuitous, and cannot 
possibly be reconciled with the text of Champlain.' If the expedition 
had gone as far west as Canandaigua lake, Champlain would have passed 
near to, and have become acquainted with, the existence of no less than 
eight of those remarkable inland sheets of water which form so conspic- 
uous a feature in the scenery of central New York, not to mention three 
others a little further west. Only five lakes are indicated on the map, 
and none are mentioned in the narrative, except Oneida Lake and the 
one on which the fort was situated. They would certainly have been as 
worthy of description as the " sandy beach," " the beautiful wooded 
country," "the numerous streams," the Oneida " lake and river," and 

' In the facsimile ol Champlain's map, published by Tross, in Paris, the dotted line, where it 
should cross Lake Ontario, as shown by the original map, is omitted. The same portion of the line 
is also wanting in the facsimile published by Dr. O'Callaghan, in Vol. III. of the Documentary 
History of New York, and by Laverdiere, in his recent edition of Champlain's works. The islands 
in the eastern end of Lake Ontario, as represented on the original map, are also entirely omitted on 
Dr. O'Callaghan 's facsimile. 



CHAM PLAINS EXPEDITION OF 1615 

" the small lake," adjacent to the Iroquois fort, which were met with on 
the route and noticed in the narrative. 

3d. It is urged, as an additional argument against the location of the 
Iroquois fort in the Onondaga country, that the distance of " twenty- 
five or thirty leagues," stated by Champlain to have been traveled by the 
invaders after the}^ had landed, as well in going to as in returning from 
the fort, necessarily indicates that they must have gone at least as far 
west as Canandaigua Lake. It may be said that in stating this distance, 
Champlain intended to exclude the " four leagues " which they traveled 
over " a sandy beach," immediately after they had concealed their ca- 
noes, thus making from twenty-nine to thirty-four leagues in all. But 
this cannot be a fair construction of his language. He says, " We made 
about fourteen leagues in crossing the lake in a southerly direction. The 
Indians concealed all their canoes in the woods near the shore. We 
traveled by land some four leagues over a sandy beach." A little fur- 
ther on he continues : " All the canoes being concealed, we proceeded 
by land about twenty-five or thirty leagues during four days." He thus 
includes the " four leagues " in the four days' travel of " twenty-five or 
thirty leagues." 

The above construction is justified by the further statement, that the 
same distance of " twenty-five or thirty leagues " was traveled by the ex- 
pedition on its return from the fort to the canoes, referring to the zvhole 
distance. "The retreat," he says, " was very tedious, being from twenty- 
five to thirty leagues, and greatly fatigued" the wounded and those who 
bore them, although they relieved each other from time to time." Yet 
this retreat must have been accomplished in tzvo days, half the time it 
took to reach the fort from the landing, for he states they were encamped 
before the fort imtil the i6th of October, and reached their canoes on 
the 1 8th. Charlevoix says they did not stop during their retreat'^ — a 
physical impossibility, certainly, if they had started from a point as far 
west as Canandaigua Lake. This assertion of Charlevoix does not ap- 
pear to be warranted by the narrative of Champlain. 

Those writers who, relying on the map, locate the fort on Canandai- 
gua Lake, lose sight of the fact that it discharges its waters into Lake 
Ontario through the Clyde, Seneca and Oswego rivers, Avhereas the map 
places the fort on a stream which empties into Lake Ontario at a point 
much further west. In considering the question of distance, it must be 
borne in mind, that the attacking party was on foot, advancing cautiously 

' Laverdiere's Champlain, p. 526. 

* Charlevoix' N. France, Vol. I., p. 241 Edition of 1744. 



chaiviplain's expedition ok 1615 

towards a formidable enemy, in a hostile and unexplored country, desti- 
tute of roads and abounding in dense forests, nunierous rivers and miry 
swamps. Under such circumstances, incumbered as they were with 
their implements of war and other effects, their progress must have been 
slow. The distances which are given by Champlain, being measured 
only by time, are consequentl}^ over-estimated. On their retreat, they 
had become more familiar with the country, and under the stimulus of 
an enem}^ in the rear, accomplished their return with much greater rapid- 
ity. From Stony Point where they landed, to Onondaga Lake, follow- 
ing in part the beach of Lake Ontario, is fifty-three miles, by the shortest 
possible line, as measured on a reliable map. But it would have been im- 
possible for such an expedition to pursue so direct a course, owing to 
the necessity of moving circumspectly, and of seeking the most conve- 
nient and practicable route through an unknown wilderness. It would 
not be unreasonable to deduct at least one-fifth from the number of 
leagues stated by Champlain, in order to arrive at the actual air line 
distance between the place where he landed and the Iroquois fort.' 
If, therefore, we take one-fifth from twenty-seven and a half leagues, 
which is the mean of the two distances given by Champlain, it will leave 
twenty-two leagues, or fifty-three and a half miles, as the true distance, 
measured on an air line. As an example of over-estimates by Champlain 
himself, reference may be had to the width of Lake Ontario, which he 
says is "twenty-five leagues," an excess of one-fifth.'' Also to the cir- 
cumference of Oneida Lake, which he states at '' twenty-five or thirty 
leagues," an excess of one-fourth. Numerous other examples might be 
cited. 

' Champlain's distances are stated in " leagues." Several, differing in length, were used by the 
French, under that name. Among them were the " lieue de paste " of 2^^^ English miles — the 
" /ieue moyenne" of 2^^ English miles, and the ^'' lieue g^ographique" of 3^q^q English miles. It is 
important, in discussing this question, to determine the length of the one used by Champlain^ 
Neither his narrative, nor his map of 1632, affords any light on the subject. There is inscribed on 
a map published in Paris in 1664, entitled : " Le Canada fait par le Sr. de Champlain * * suivant 
les Memoires de P. du Val," a scale of ' Lieues Francaises chacu7ie de 2,500 pas gdometriques!' It 
is fair to presume that the length of the league, as given on this map is identical with the one used 
by Champlain. As a geometrical pace is I^q^q French metres, or 3j%^q English feet, it follows that 
Champlain's league must be 25-^5 English miles, differing slightly from the length of the lietie de paste 
as above stated. This conclusion would account for the discrepance which has arisen from calling 
the old French league equivalent to three English miles. The English miles, stated in the text, 
have been computed on the basis of two and a half to a French league. Even if there were three, 
it would not change the result, or carry the expedition west of Onondaga Lake. By reckoning the 
league as equivalent to two and a half miles, many supposed discrepancies of early French traveler^ 
in America are reconciled, and their over-estimates of distances explained. 

* Laverdiere's Champlain, p. 527. 



CHAMPLAINS' EXPEDITION OF 1615 

It may be interesting, in this connection, to compare Champlain's 
statements with those of the Jesuit Dablon, who traveled twice over the 
same route in 1655 and 1656, under much more favorable circumstances 
for correctly estimating the distances. He informs us that, in company 
with Father Chaumonot, he left Montreal on the 7th day of October, 
1655, for the Onondaga country, and reached " OtiJiatangiie" (the mouth 
of Salmon river") by canoe on the 29th of the same month/ That he 
landed the next day, and prepared to go on foot to Onondaga. That on 
the first day of November, after going '' five good leagues,'^ he encamped 
for the night on the banks of a small stream. Early the next day he 
continued his journey for "six or seven leagues^' and encamped for the 
night in the open air. On the third, before sunrise, he resumed his way, 
and reached " TethiroguenJ' which he describes as "a river which issues 
from Lake GoienJio'' (Oneida Lake), and "remarkable as a rendezvous 
for a great number of fishermen." Here he passed the night in an 
Indian cabin. The distance traveled this day is not stated, but we may 
assume it to have been six leagues, which is about the average of the 
other days. On the fourth he wenf " ^i^^w^" six leagues,"' and passed the 
night in an "open country," '' four leagues'' from Onondaga. On the 
fifth of November he reached the latter place,^ having spent five days in 
traveling from the mouth of Salmon river, a distance, according to the 
narrative, of twenty-seven and a half leagues. Inasmuch, however, as 
the Iroquois fort is claimed to have been on Onondaga Lake, five leagues 
north of the ancient village of Onondaga,^ which the Jesuit reached on 
the fifth of November, the said five leagues should, for the purpose of 
comparison with Champlain, be deducted from the above twenty-seven 
and a half leagues. To the resulting difference should be added, for the 
same reason, six and a half leagues, being the distance from Stony 
Point to the mouth of the Salmon river, thus making, from the said Point 
to the fort, according to the Jesuit narrative, twenty-nine and a half 
leagues, which is a little short of the extreme distance of thirty leagues 
stated by Champlain. 

Leaving Chaiunonot at Onondaga, Dablon set out on his return to 
Quebec on the second day of March, 1656,' over nearly the same route, 
and traveled that day five leagues. On the third he rested on account of 
the rain. On the fourth he traveled six leagues to Oneida Lake. Fear- 

' Relation of 1656^ p. 7. Quebec Edition. 

'^ Onondaga was situated a few miles south of the present city of Syracuse. 

^Jesuit Relation for 1657, p. 14. Quebec edition. 

* Jesuit Relation for 1656, p. 35. Quebec edition. 



CHAMPLAIN'S EXPEDITION OF 1615 

ing to venture on the thin ice, he spent the next day on its banks. On 
the sixth, it was sufficiently frozen to enable him to cross at a point 
where the lake was a league and a half broad. He reached the mouth 
of Salmon river on the eighth, a little before noon, consuming in travel, 
exclusive of detentions, four and a half days. The rate of progress, 
after crossing Oneida Lake, is not given, but, estimating six leagues as 
an average day's travel, would make twenty-six leagues from the Onon- 
daga village to the mouth of Salmon river. After allowing the same 
deductions and additions as in the case of his previous trip, it would 
leave twenty-seven and a half leagues, which is the mean of the two 
distances stated by Champlain. By thus comparing Champlain's esti- 
mates with those of the Jesuit, it will be readily seen that the expedition 
of the former could not possibly have extended west of Onondaga Lake. 

Having thus examined the reasons which have been urged in favor 
of locating the fort in question on Seneca territory, founded on the sim- 
ilarity between the names which the Hurons bestowed on the Iroquois 
and the EntoiiJionorons, and also the reasons for such location, based on 
the course of the '' dotted line " laid down on Champlain's map, between 
the point where he landed and the said fort, and on the distances which 
Champlain states were traveled by him, between the same points, it now 
remains to state and consider the objections which exist against placing 
the location of the fort as far west as the Seneca Country. 

ist. The actual distance between the place of landing and the foot 
of Canandaigua Lake, measured on the shortest possible line, is ninet} - 
six miles, or thirty-eight and a half leagues. It would be absurd, how- 
ever, to suppose that the expedition could have followed so direct a 
course. On the contrary, in accomplishing the distance to the fort, it 
must have passed over, as stated on a previous page, at least one- 
fifth more than a straight line between the said points. This fact, with- 
out allowing anything for Champlain's over-estimate, would, in case the 
objective point were Canandaigua Lake, make the distance actually trav- 
eled at least forty-six leagues, or not less than one hundred and fifteen 
miles. If, as is claimed by some, the fort were still further west, on a 
tributary of the Genesee,' it would add several leagues more to the diffi- 
culty. 2d. The design of the expedition was to attack an Iroquois tribe 
living south of Lake Ontario. The assailants were the Hurons, living 
on the eastern shore of the lake which bears their name. They started 
from their principal village, which was situated west of Lake Simcoe, 
on the borders of the Huron country nearest to the Iroquois.^ 

^ Laverdiere's Champlain, p. 528, note i. 

*Jesuit Relation, 1640, p. go, Quebec edition, Laverdiere's Champlain, p. 518, note T. 



CHAMPLAIN'S EXPEDITION OF 1615 

Now, if it were their object to attack the Senecas, the shortest and 
most feasible route to reach them would have been either in a southerly 
direction around the western extremity of Lake Ontario, through the 
territory of the friendly Neuter nation, who then lived on both sides of 
the Niagara, or by canoe directly across the lake, or by coasting along 
its western shore, landing, in either case, near the mouth of the Genesee 
river The fact that the expedition chose the circuitous and toilsome 
route by the river Trent, through crooked lakes and tortuous channels, 
involving numerous portages, and traveled eastward for the entire 
length of Lake Ontario, crossing its eastern extremity m search of an 
€nemy on its south side, affords a strong presumption that the enemy 
thus sought was located near that eastern extremity. 3d. If the object 
were to attack the Senecas, the Hurons and their allies would hardly 
have chosen a route which would separate them so far from their canoes, 
at the risk of being outflanked by the watchful and kindred Iroquois 
tribes whom they must pass on the way. After crossing the eastern 
end of Lake Ontario, it would have been much less hazardous and fatigu- 
ing to have coasted along its southern shore to Irondequoit bay, from 
whence the Senecas could easily be reached, as they were by Ganin6e 
in 1669, and by Demonvillein 1687. 

Having examined the arguments which have been urged in favor of the 
location of the Iroquois fort in the country of the Senecas, and noticed 
a few of the principal objections against it, some of the affirmative proofs, 
establishing its site on or near Onondaga Lake, remain to be considered. 
A careful examination of Champlain's narrative will show that, as be- 
fore stated, he must have landed on what has been designated as " Pointe 
de Traverse'' or "Stony Point," in Jefferson County. It is the nearest 
and most feasible landing from the islands which are grouped m the 
eastern extremity of Lake Ontario, and along which the expedition un- 
doubtedly passed before reaching its southern shore.' It is well known 
that from the earhest times the Indians and voyageurs, as they crossed 
the Lake in rough weather, availed themselves of the protection of those 
islands. They form a continuous chain, stretching from shore to shore, 
embracing the Inner Ducks, Outer Ducks, Great Galloo, Little Galloo, 
Calf and Stony Islands. The distances between them, are unequal, m no 
case exceeding seven miles. The expedition could not easily have 
landed directly upon the point in question, as it presents a perpendicu- 
lar rocky bluff, washed at its base by the lake, and forms a bold and in- 

iChamplain says, "There were large, fine islands on the ^^ss^gQ."—Laverdih-e's Champlain, 
p. 526. 



CHAMPLAIN'S EXPEDITION OF 1615 

surmountable barrier for some distance in either direction. By passing 
around the northern extremity of the point, now called " six town point," 
a safe and sheltered bay is accessible, at the bottom of which is the pres- 
ent harbor of Henderson. This convenient and secluded position was 
undoubtedly chosen by Champlain and his companions as a favorable 
point for leaving and concealing their canoes.' Having accomplished 
their debarkation, the invaders followed, for four leagues in a southerly 
direction, the sandy beach which still borders the lake as far south as 
Salmon river. It is about six and a half leagues from Stony Point to 
that river. The many small streams and ponds mentioned by Cham- 
plain can easily be identified by the aid of a correct map. The " two 
small rivers " are undoubtedly those now known as the Big Sandy creek 
and Salmon river. The invaders were four days from the time of their 
landing in reaching the Iroquois fort. The narrative states that after 
passing the two small rivers above mentioned, " they crossed another 
issuing from a lake, which empties into that of the EntouJwnorons.''"' This 
undoubtedly refers to Oneida river and Lake. " This Lake," says the 
narrative, " is about twenty-five or thirty leagues in circumference,' con- 
tains beautiful islands, and is the place where the Iroquois catch their fish, 
which are there in abundance." After crossing Oneida river, the scouts 
encountered and captured a party of Iroquois, '' going to the fishery, dis- 
tant four leagues from the enemy s fort. '' This locates the fort four leagues 
south of the outlet of Oneida lake. The latter point was always a noted 
resort for Salmon fishery in the early history of the country. It is so re- 
ferred to in one of Dablons Journals above quoted, and in many other 
early narratives. 

The expedition must have met the party of Iroquois, which included 
women and children, not far from the fishery and the village, which were 
only about four leagues or ten miles apart. They were probably going 
from the latter to the former. This was on the 9th of October. On the 
next day, at 3 P. M., they reached the fort. It would have required two 
or three days more time, and sixty miles more of hard marching, to have 
arrived at Canandaigua Lake. 

It is impossible, fi-om the meager details given by Champlain, to ■Hl^- 
c&xX2iv!\ Xho, precise locality of the fort. He places it near a small lake, 

' A natural landing place of rock formation, existed there in olden time, known as the " Indian 
Wharf." A trail or portage road, 300 rods long, led from the landing to Stony Creek. See French's 
N. Y. State Gazetteer, p. 358. MS. letter of the Hon. Wm. C. Pierrepont, of Pierrepont manor, to 
the author. 

* Lake Ontario. 

^ These dimensions are, as usual, over-stated. 



CHAMPLAINS EXPEDITION OF 1615 

and there is no site more probable, nor one which corresponds in more 
particulars to Champlain's description, than the banks of Onondaga 
Lake. The late Joshua V. H. Clark, author of the " History of Onon- 
daga," states that traces of an ancient Indian fortification were discov- 
ered bv the first settlers, on the east side of that lake, near the present 
village of Liverpool. These mav have been the remains of the fort in 
question. There is reason to believe that Monsieur Dupuis and his 
companions, including several Jesuit missionaries, occupied the same 
locality in 1656. It is described by the Jesuits ' as a beautiful, conve- 
nient and advantageous eminence, overlooking Lake Gannentaa (Onon- 
daga Lake) and all the neighboring country, and abounding in numerous 
fresh water springs.' Its distance from the chief village of the Onon- 
dagas, where burned from time immemorial the ancient council fire of 
the Iroquois Confederacy, is stated to be four leagues, which would indi- 
cate that its location must have been near Liverpool. 

It is also supposed that the Count de Frontenac encamped in the same 
place, -when he invaded the Onondaga country in 1696, and that Col. 
Van Schaick occupied the identical ground while on his expedition 
against the Onondagas in 1779.' It was a position which undoubtedl}'" 
commended itself to the sagacious Iroquois as eminently suitable for a 
defensive structure, and was thus early used for that purpose. 

In the discussion of this question, I have endeavored fully and fairly 
to present the points, and to give due force to the arguments which 
have been urged in favor of the identity of the EntoiUionorons with the 
Scnccas, and of the location of the Iroquois fort in the territory of the 
latter. It is submitted that the weight of testimony is decidedl}^, if not 
conclusively, against those propositions, and that we must look on the 
banks of the Onondaga Lake, in the heart of the central canton of the 
great Iroquois Confederacy, for the site of that rude fortification which, 
more than two centuries and a half ago, so bravely and successfully 
resisted the allied Hurons and Algonkins of the northwest, aided by 
Champlain and his firearms, and after repeated assaults and a siege of 
several days compelled the assailants to abandon the enterprise, and 
retreat ignominiously from the Iroquois country. 

O. H. MARSHALL. 

' On the first settlement of the country, the outlines of a fortification at this point were plainly 
visible, of which a sketch was made in 1797, by Judge Geddes, then Deputy Surveyor General of 
New York. A copy is given in the second volume of Clark's Onondaga, page 147. A spring 
exists, at the present time, near the site of the fort, called Gannentaa Spring. 

^ Relation 1657, p. 14. Quebec edition. 

^ Clark's Onondaga, Vol. i, p. 256. 



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